ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS part4(§35-§43)



§35  Although there are no differences in form between the positive and comparative forms
        of adjectives and adverbs, the superlative form of adverbs exists only
        in the am . . . -sten framework described in §31.
                       Von allen Sängerinnen singt Barbara weitaus am schönsten.


§36  Word order. Adverbs of time are often placed first in a sentence.
                       Morgens ißt er ganz wenig.
                                      In the mornings he eats very little.

        Other kinds of adverbs show emphasis in first position — in English as in German.
                       Mit meinem Hund gehe ich im Stadtpark spazieren.
                                      With my dog I go walking in the city park.

        Often there is more than one adverb in a sentence, in which case the more or most
        important one comes first, with the verb following. Of course, the importance of an
        adverb is determined by the speaker, not by some abstract set of rules.
        The rule of thumb “time—manner—place” is often cited for the order of adverbs in a
        German sentence.
                                                                           how        
                      Am Donnerstag gehe ich mit meinem Hund im Stadtpark spazieren.                                                     ↑ where                                                            ↑ where
        But this assumes that no single adverbial element is emphasized over any other. All
        things being equal, this is an appropriate order, but in the real world of daily
        communication the “rule” is probably broken more often than it is obeyed. The principle
        of “most important first” is the one to remember.

§37  Adverbs can be doubled, as in English, to lend greater precision to a statement.
        Obviously, ‘tonight’ does not say as much as ‘tonight at 8’. Generally the more general
        statement is made first, then the more specific:

                                         ↓ general
        Wir kommen morgen Abend um sieben Uhr.                                                  
                                                                     ↑ specific
                                  ↓ general                                                                   general
        Er findet uns im Park neben dem Rathaus. Ihr Koffer ist oben im zweiten Stock.                                                                               specific                                              ↑ specific
§38  The adverb noch has to do with time that has begun in the past and has continued
         into the present. It is an adverb that looks back, saying that a prior condition still exists.
         Sind Sie noch hier? Ich dachte, Sie sind schon lange weg.
                   Are you still here? I thought you’d left long ago.

        The combination of noch with immer as noch immer or immer noch provides 
        special emphasis:
                   Ist er denn immer noch in Bonn?     Don’t tell me he’s still in Bonn!
        One negative of noch is nicht mehr, used to negate an entire idea
        The condition that began in the past no longer exists.
        Ja, also, er war heute hier — jetzt aber nicht mehr. Ich weiß nicht, wo er ist.
                                (IDEA: ist er noch hier?)

        Another negative of noch is kein- . . . mehr. This phrase is used to negate nouns:
        Entschuldigung. Haben Sie heute noch Zeit? Es tut mir leid, daß ich so spät komme.
                   — Nein, jetzt habe ich keine Zeit mehr. Warum waren Sie nicht früher hier?

§39  In a sense the adverb schon is the opposite of noch, because schon often has
        to do with time that is beginning in the present and extending into the future. 
        A question using schon asks whether an expected (future) condition already exists.
        Elaboration often contains the adverb erst ‘just, not until’.
        Sind Sie schon hier? Ich dachte, Sie kommen erst um 8 Uhr.
                   — Ja, ich weiß. Es ist jetzt erst 7 Uhr 30. Hoffentlich ist das nicht zu früh.

        NOTE: In combination with other adverbs of time, schon points not forward, but back in
        time. The continuity with present time is still firmly established.
                  Sie wohnt schon lange (zwei Jahre, zehn Monate) in Köln.
                  She’s been living in Cologne for a long time (two years, ten months) now.

        The negative forms of schon parallel those of noch37). Noch nicht ‘not yet’ 
        negates an entire idea:
                  Ist sie schon hier? Ach, ich hoffe es!
                  — Nein, sie ist noch nicht hier. Ich sage es Ihnen, wenn sie kommt.
                          (IDEA: ist sie hier?)

        NOTE: Noch nicht is not the negative of noch!
        Noch kein- negates nouns:
        Haben Sie Ihren Brief schon?

                  — Nein, ich habe noch keine Post bekommen. (noun: Post)
        Aber warum nicht?

                  — Nun, ich war noch nicht bei der Post. (idea: bei der Post sein)

§40  The adverb gern shows that the action of a verb is gladly or willingly undertaken.
        By extension, it is used in sentences that tell what someone’s interests or hobbies are.
        Gern also reinforces möchte.
        Möchten Sie mit mir einkaufen gehen? — Ja, gern. Ich komme gern mit.
        Ja, mein Franz spielt so gern mit seiner Modelleisenbahn. Schade!
                  — Warum schade? Es ist schön, daß Ihr Enkel gern spielt.
        Aber Franz ist mein Mann! Er ist doch 87 Jahre alt!
                  — Nun, seien Sie nicht so. Ich möchte auch gern so lange leben.

        Lieber, the comparative of gern, is used to show preference for one thing over another.
        Tennis ist ein schöner Sport. Aber ich schwimme lieber.
                 Was möchten Sie lieber machen? Reiten oder im Gummiboot paddeln?
                 Ich glaube, ich möchte lieber paddeln. Es ist doch so furchtbar heiß.
        Am liebsten is the superlative of gern, showing a preference for one thing over 
        several others.
     Ja, Hummel und Scarlatti höre ich sehr gern. Aber am liebsten höre ich Schostakowitsch.
     So. Jetzt haben wir ein ganzes Wochenende. Was möchten Sie am liebsten machen?

§41  The adverb hin shows motion away from the speaker. It often reinforces another
        directional adverb in the sentence, and is frequently a part of a separable verb prefix.
        Combining with wo it means ‘Where to?’.

                Die ganze Familie ist 1880 nach Amerika hingezogen.
                Zuerst wollten sie nach New York hin, aber dann kamen sie nach New Orleans.
                Wo gehen Sie hin, bitte?              or              Wohin gehen Sie, bitte?
          
                 ↑___________ ↑ Where are you going?       

         Hin can combine with prepositions to indicate a more precise direction:
                Steigen Sie nur hinauf.          Go ahead and climb on up.
                Ach, mein Hut ist von der Turmspitze hinuntergefallen!
 
                                                                                     ↑ down away (from me)
§42  The adverb her is used to indicate motion toward the speaker. Combining with wo it
        means ‘Where from?’.
        Kommen Sie bitte her!
        Wo kommen Sie her, bitte?                or               Woher kommen Sie, bitte?

         ↑_____________ ↑ Where do you come from?   
        In this function it is often combined with prepositions to indicate more precisely the
        direction taken.
               Herein, bitte!        Kommen Sie bitte herunter.
               Please come in.   Please come down here (toward me).

        In spoken German, the difference between hin and her is frequently obscured, with a
        variant of her being used more often and simply with the meaning ‘with motion’.

        Und plötzlich ist der Bergsteiger in die Gletscherspalte heruntergefallen.
        And suddenly the mountain climber fell down into the crevasse.
        (The speaker would have to be down in the glacier for the strict her rule to apply.)
         ’Raus! Get out of here!

        Understandably, the phrase hin und her means ‘back and forth’.

§43  The adverbial suffix -lang attaches to noun plurals in order to indicate distance or
        duration of time.
                der Tag, -e          tagelang
                die Woche, -en   wochenlang
                der Monat, -e      monatelang
                das Jahr, -e         jahrelang
                das Meter, -        meterlang
                die Meile, -n       meilenlang


ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS part4(§35-§43) ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS part4(§35-§43) Reviewed by Admin on 11:54:00 AM Rating: 5

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